Episodes

Category Archives: Episodes

As the holiday season begins, what better way to celebrate than with family? In that spirit, Austin and Aaron host an episode with Aaron’s Dad, Dr. Jeffrey Pomerantz, a corrections physician of 23 years, to discuss ongoing criminal justice reform efforts, jury nullification, and the sheer problem of the number of laws we have. Aaron talks about the psychology of

Happy Thanksgiving Week! Jenn and Aaron return with a new guest, Maddie Collins, to discuss a recent article alleging that women who do not support the progressive agenda are bigoted. Jenn discusses how her encounters with the works of Russell Kirk and William F. Buckley Junior during her Master’s thesis formed her political views, regardless of what gender norms might

Austin and Aaron take on some of the latest anti-gun legislation from New York and Washington State. Austin discusses some misconceptions that both sides hold about the legal rights surrounding firearms. Both Austin and Aaron take issue with the term “common sense gun control,” and Aaron connects popular attitudes to firearms to both construal level theory and classic psychological theories

Happy/Horrific Election Day! In the wake of the immigration-fueled hysteria, and President Trump’s hurling gasoline on that fire with his promise of overriding the 14th Amendment via executive order, psychology, history, and the law come together for our first triple-header episode! Aaron lays out some of the psychology underlying the immigration debate, Jason provides a historical overview of America’s troubled

Aaron and Jenn Shadle discuss Kristen Bell and Kiera Knightley’s controversial views on letting their kids watch Disney Princess movies. Jenn gives her views on why censorship is a bad thing, and why it harms the point of storytelling and art in general, while Aaron discusses psychological research from the University of Oklahoma which shows just how important fantasy,

Jason and Aaron discuss the recent “rise” in political tribalism pointed out by many across the political spectrum. Though many say it’s only getting worse as the midterm elections loom closer, Jason explains why, from a historical perspective, this is nothing new in American politics, giving several examples of far worse elections and rhetoric than that seen in 2016 and

Aaron and Austin discuss the recent purge of facebook pages, many of them liberty-oriented, which supposedly occurred to “protect our democracy.” Austin discusses the underlying jurisprudence of free speech, including the history of the Supreme Court decisions relating to it, while Aaron relates the current debates over what should and shouldn’t be considered “free” speech to honor ideology and psychological

The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Batman, and…. John D. Rockefeller? Guest host Jason Klicker joins Aaron as they discuss the recent controversy around Telltale Game Studios, including their unceremonious firing of almost all of their employees. In the course of this discussion, Jason and Aaron cover the corporate illusion of invulnerability, a brief overview of some of the lesser-known

In the first ever guest-episode, guest Austin Collins joins Aaron in exploring both the legal and psychological reasons why the Kavanaugh hearings have been an unmitigated disaster for both sides of the aisle – and why neither party has ended up looking good. Austin also discusses what majors make you more likely to end up in law school, while Aaron

As the East coast struggles in the wake of yet another hurricane, Aaron and Tyler discuss a notion often brought up in the wake of such tragedies: price gouging. Tyler argues that price-gouging is a more complex economic issue than most of our cultural dialogue would suggest, even responding to some specific “hot takes” on the subject. Aaron discusses how